The 12th Brazilian Demographic Census began on Sunday, August 1st, 2010. Throughout this week and in the next three months...

The 12^th Brazilian Demographic Census began on Sunday, August 1^st, 2010. Throughout this week and in the next three months, 191,972 enumerators of IBGE will cover the 8,514,876.599 km² of the national territory, in the 5,565 Brazilian municipalities, in order to count how many we are and know how we live. In the 58 million private households, as well as in orphanages, nursing homes for elderly, and other collective households, no Brazilian will be out of this huge operation. It will involve direct work of approximately 230 thousand people and generate results that will help plan public and private policies in the next ten years.

"The 2010 Census will show a country with a higher schooling rate, a wider digital inclusion, an older population, a higher income level, a larger access to consumption products, new family structures and a growing presence of women in the work market and higher education. That is the portrait we are going to register", the president of IBGE, Eduardo Pereira Nunes, states considering the transformations Brazil has gone through in the last decade.

In order to ensure a more accurate portrait of Brazilians and their life conditions, IBGE counts, above all, on the cooperation of the population in receiving the enumerator well and answering the questionnaires correctly. A country that knows itself can only benefit from that.

Throughout the next weeks, up to October 31^st, each Brazilian household will receive an enumerator of IBGE. Based on the information collected by them, Brazil will be able to plan for the next ten years: it will help define public policies in national, state and municipal levels, as well as help private initiatives to make decisions about investments.

Each one of the 191,972 enumerators can be identified by the uniform – vest and cap with the Census logo –, by the electronic equipment of data collection (PDA) and by a badge visible in the vest pocket, with name, register number and photo. This identity can be confirmed by a free telephone call to 0800-7218181, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and by the site of IBGE on the link

www.censo2010.ibge.gov.br/recenseadores.php.

As great part of the population is out during great part of the day, enumerators may visit households in the evenings, on holidays or on weekends. Each enumerator will organize their work in order to interview at least one resident of all households. That is, everyone will be counted, but not everyone will be necessarily interviewed.

The news for the 2010 Census is the option of filling out the questionnaires by the Internet. But the possibility is only valid after the visit of the enumerator – who will provide a sealed envelope containing codes (e-tickets) that give access to the questionnaires in a safe and cryptographic site. That measure ensures the confidentiality and safety of the information. It is possible to answer the questionnaires from any computer, at home, at work and even in an Internet center.

If there is a blackout or if the Internet connection fails during the process, there is no problem. The information that has been already sent is saved. In order to continue answering the questionnaire, it is necessary to access the site again and inform the e-ticket. The only information that is lost is the one on the screen at the moment of the blackout or the connection failure.

The questionnaire to be answered via Internet will not be available in the homepage of IBGE and will not be available for access until the visit of one enumerator. IBGE will not send e-mails requiring the completion of the questionnaires. Therefore, people should not open any electronic message supposedly sent by IBGE.

There will be a deadline for residents to send the answers by the Internet, in case they do not do it, IBGE will contact them requiring the information.

Census will reveal the reality of each municipality

The Demographic Census is the only household survey to assess information about all the 5,565 Brazilian municipalities, bringing, for some aspects, specific data about neighborhoods and counties. The Census questionnaire investigates household characteristics, family relations, fertility, education, work, income, color and race and religion. It was broadly discussed by specialists and users and adapted to international recommendations. In general, it will bring questions that can verify the social transformations since the 2000 Census.

Those transformations influenced the inclusion of new questions this year. As to households, there will be questions about the use of the energy meter and availability of electric energy, the existence of cellular phones and motorcycles, access to the Internet, international emigration, mortality and shared responsibility. As for the residents, IBGE will investigate the ethnic or Indian groups, the spoken Indian languages, the existence of birth registers for children up to ten years of age, specialization courses of higher education level, income received from social programs, commutation time and family arrangements of same-sex partners.

Census can be monitored by the site, social networks and the commissions of geography and statistics

The 2010 Census (www.censo2010.ibge.gov.br) will provide updated information about the survey. In addition, the work can be followed in social network sites such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as in You tube videos. The progress of the data collection and the partial results of the number of residents of each municipality will also be monitored by the Municipal Commissions of Geography and Statistics (CMGEs), which reunite IBGE and representatives of local governments, private initiatives and society in general, as a guarantee of transparency.

The "2010 Census Guide for Journalists", available for search and download in the Press Room of IBGE site (https://www.ibge.gov.br/arquivos/noticias/guia_do_censo_2010.php), also clears up doubts in the question-and-answer format.

The first total result of the population will be public on November 27^th, and in the following months further information relative to the Census questionnaire will be released.